Preview: Seahawks at Cardinals

Reuters Staff

4 Min Read

The Seattle Seahawks were fit to be tied after seeing their four-game winning streak come to a halt last week following three missed field-goal attempts and a season-high 16 penalties. Speaking of ties, the Seahawks return to the site of a rare draw last season when they visit the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday.

“Yeah, it’s a great challenge, obviously, for Thursday night games. ... I think the biggest thing is the preparation part of it,” Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson, who threw multiple touchdown passes for the third straight week and fifth time in six games in Sunday’s 17-14 loss to Washington, told reporters. The 28-year-old tossed four scoring strikes in a 34-31 setback against Arizona last season on Christmas Eve after both teams were limited to field goals in a 6-6 tie on Oct. 23, 2016. Adrian Peterson was not a member of the Cardinals for those contests, but the 32-year-old is making up for lost time in a hurry with a career-high 37 rushes for 159 yards in Sunday’s 20-10 victory over winless San Francisco. When asked what type of workload is expected for Peterson on the short week, Arizona coach Bruce Arians told reporters, “I would think the same as last week. ... I wouldn’t challenge him in any form or fashion by saying, ‘You’re only going to get 20 (carries)’ because I’d probably have to fight him on the sideline.”

TV: 8:25 p.m. ET, NBC, NFL Network. LINE: Seahawks -5.5 O/U: 44.5

ABOUT THE SEAHAWKS (5-3): Blair Walsh had reason to hang his head after missing field-goal attempts of 44, 39 and 49 yards versus the Redskins, but coach Pete Carroll didn’t want those misfires to lead to the 27-year-old kicker worrying about his job security. “I‘m concerned that he had trouble in this game,” Carroll said on his 710 ESPN Seattle radio show. “I don’t think that that has to do with anything (on Thursday). We’ll find out. We’ll see him come on back.” Doug Baldwin, who made a career-best 13 catches for 171 yards and a touchdown in the last encounter with Arizona, has 22 receptions on 34 targets for 254 yards and two scores over his last three games.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS (4-4): Drew Stanton traditionally has stepped up when called upon, and the 33-year-old did precisely that by extending his winning streak to four starts - albeit spread over nearly three years - by tossing two touchdown passes versus the 49ers. “When Drew steps in the huddle, there is total confidence in the other 10 guys,” Arians told reporters. “They know he knows this offense inside and out, and when he gets a hot hand, he can really light you up.” J.J. Nelson rolled up 132 receiving yards in his last encounter with Seattle but has made just three catches for 54 yards in his last three overall games.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Seattle S Earl Thomas (hamstring) will be a game-time decision while RB C.J. Prosise is expected to play on Thursday despite nursing a high-ankle sprain that has caused him to miss all but two snaps in the last five contests.

2. The Cardinals are 6-1-1 in their last eight games against NFC West rivals.

3. The Seahawks lead the NFL in accepted penalties with 82 and penalty yards with 682.